Kasumi Itsuka
'''Kasumi Itsuka '''is a Tsaesci Princess from Akavir and a user of the technique known as Spirit Pressure. She is considered the least useful member of the Itsuka clan by many of the officials in the Imperial Court and looked down on by many, both inside and outside the Guardian Clans. She is the main character of Mists of the Rising Sun. Kasumi is known to share a close relationship with her younger brother Tetsuya Itsuka who has helped her many times, but is considered somewhat distant from her other siblings. Kasumi ended up going to Tamriel with Ren Mikogami so she could prove herself to the Tsaesci people and get recognition from the nobility. When they were attacked by the Ka Po Tun, Ren used magic to transport both of them to Tamriel, stranding them there until they can find a way back to Akavir. Kasumi is also the one who spared Shiori Inoue and allowed her to pay back for her crime of treason by carrying her baggage as she attempts to stop Ryu Jin Woo and Ryu Min Yeon from achieving their objectives in Tamriel. Biography Kasumi was born close to the conclusion of the Tsaesci - Ka Po Tun wars, where her parents Ryunnosuke and Ayaka managed to lead the Tsaesci forces to a decisive victory over the Ka Po Tun after many years of territorial losses to the latter. The Ka Po Tun retreated from most of the lands they took from the Tsaesci, hence Kasumi's birth was seen by many as auspicious and well timed. As was accorded to her two older siblings, Kasumi was given the best possible education by her parents, who did much to get her as many books and educational materials as possible. She was taught how to write and speak more than her own language in case of future needs, so she learnt the language of the Kamal, Ka Po Tun and Tamrielic besides her own Tsaesci language. Kasumi also started on the basics of martial arts training soon after she was able to read, speak and write. Kasumi's younger brother Tetsuya was born slightly less than a year after her and Kasumi herself spent much of her childhood with her younger brother, teaching him Spirit Pressure techniques she knew and helping him learn how to read and write in the Tsaesci Language. They played together in their free time as well, which is why her younger brother likes her a lot. Their small age gap also means they saw each other as roughly equal. Kasumi learnt Spirit Pressure almost as soon as she was able to write, her mother Ayaka personally teaching her. Kasumi was able to improve quickly, but her Spirit Pressure strangely didn't grow in strength as she continued her cultivation. This actually confused Ayaka, who had no idea what was going on with her daughter. Kasumi ended up with extremely poor Spirit Pressure, even after she could produce her Spirit Sword with no problem. As such, it was under recommendations from the officials in the Tsaesci court that Kasumi was sent to Tamriel to capture the fugitive Shiori Inoue. The given reason was for her to gain merit and be accepted by the people. The truth is probably closer to the sheer gap between Spirit Pressure users and normal people. As Tamriel did not have Spirit Pressure, Kasumi would be safer there. Personality Kasumi is a somewhat spoilt princess on the surface, having been raised in the most powerful family in the Tsaesci, with all her needs and wants seen to with prompt action. She is generally quite unaware of the value of hard work and doesn't know the hardships that people born in a lower station in life face. Despite this, she is aware when she makes mistakes and puts in quite a lot of effort into correcting them. She also doesn't take things and people for granted. Kasumi is a girl of placid disposition and generally a kind person, although there can be times she is too nice for her own good. She is not good at lying and she places the honor of her family quite highly, which makes it difficult for her to surrender or give in even if placed in a disadvantageous situation. Again, this is the consequence of her being raised to be a good wife and mother by her parents while being unaware of the world outside the palace. This has led to Ren being very frustrated with Kasumi as it is difficult to persuade her to retreat in a disadvantageous situation. Kasumi is always willing to help others, feeling that it is the duty of the princess to her people to be a good example and a guardian. She tends to refuse haggling over rewards or purchases. Kasumi has quite an inflexible set of morals and generally will not accept coin to slay innocents or perform acts of larceny. She accepts that some have to resort to thievery and assassin work to feed themselves, but if they attempt to steal from her or take her life, she will fight back without any mercy. Kasumi's opinion is to mostly help those in actual and apparent need, unless it is obvious to her that she is being deceived. She is often happy to help and rarely asks for a reward, as she is not money minded. This does not serve her well if she is lacking financially. Hence, she leaves the haggling of rewards to Ren after noting they ended up empty handed in their first few attempts to help, as she can always trust him to talk terms she herself cannot bring herself to talk. Kasumi's kindness makes her susceptible to being swayed by the notion of carrying out deeds that would benefit others, even if it doesn't actually benefit as many as she would think. This has put her at odds with Ren over who to help and who not to help. While Ren has often just went along with Kasumi's decisions over such, there are times where Kasumi has given in as well, especially if it is explained why she is blindly trusting another. It can be seen that Kasumi enjoys reading in her spare time, be it books about fiction or fact. She generally reads when she is given freedom to do anything she wants. Kasumi is also naturally quite inquisitive and she is attentive when she is able to learn something new, such as when Ren explained the stars and constellations to her. However, she doesn't have time to pursue her hobbies after she has to spend her free time on learning techniques to improve her Spirit Pressure. Despite being a princess who was well cared for from birth in her native land, Kasumi does not enjoy being a burden to others and has willingly slept in the street when there was no inns around and when she had no money. She does not enjoy living like a beggar, but can tolerate it to some extent if it is required of her. Kasumi doesn't like to use her royal authority to compel others to listen to her, avoiding it for most part, as can be seen when she treats Ren Mikogami as an equal. Appearance Kasumi is a very beautiful lady, thanks in no small part to good inheritance from both her parents. She has long, straight black hair and a pair of large, non slanted eyes that contain crimson irises, as common to all Tsaesci descended from Nozomi Itsuka. Kasumi has double eyelids, thin and gently arched eyebrows, a small mouth with pink lips of moderate thickness and an oval shaped face. Her cheekbones are high, but not prominent, giving her a rather flat face as her cheeks are gently rounded. Kasumi's nose is not large, but it is straight and sharp. Kasumi has a sharp chin to complement her narrow jaw. Her skin is pale, perhaps one shade more beige than snow and bears no blemishes. When Kasumi blushes, it is obvious because her skin is so pale. Kasumi is of moderate height for a Tsaesci woman, standing around 5'4" (164 cm) tall. She has narrow shoulders and wide hips, along with a slim waist. Her bust is too small to be considered voluptuous, but she does have a large enough bust to cause a noticeable bulge even in loose clothing. All in all, her features and figure are considered in harmony with no flaw. Kasumi is considered a beauty in the Tsaesci controlled lands. In fact, she is one of the most renowned ones. Kasumi is noted to be rather thin and petite by Tamrielic standards and she does not have a very toned body. She is still considerably attractive even to many from Tamriel. Powers and Abilities As Kasumi is a Tsaesci Royal, she has been educated in the use of spirit pressure almost as soon as she could read and write. Hence, she is a spirit pressure user like all other members of her family. Kasumi's magicka pool seems to be rather small in comparison to her parents and siblings. She does not have a high level in spirit pressure usage, but she can use basic abilities such as Spirit Needle effectively. Kasumi's main weakness in Spirit Pressure use is that she is mostly ineffective in projecting it from her hands and requires contact, as she can't generate enough during attacks other than for basic skills. Kasumi's self refinement is enough to allow her superhuman strength and speed, though. Kasumi later learns the Hoshimiya and Mikogami cultivation techniques from Ren, improving the efficiency of her magic usage. Her ability to use elemental abilities increased slightly from learning such skills, but her low magicka reserves is still a major hindrance towards learning stronger techniques. Kasumi is able to create a Spirit Sword. This weapon takes the form of a pale silver Odachi with a white hilt. While powers are often associated with the Spirit Sword, Kasumi seems to use her Spirit Sword as purely a normal melee weapon. While it is capable of being used as a combat weapon, Kasumi's sword hosts a miraculous ability to revive the dead, with the side effect of erasing memories from the deceased depending on how long they have been dead. Kasumi also possesses a mysterious ability to release massive amounts of Spirit Pressure for a short time, allowing her to increase her physical prowess and the pressure of her strikes greatly. Her overall Spirit Pressure is comparable to a top tier Spirit Pressure user in this state. The exact nature of this ability is still unknown as even Kasumi isn't certain how she can use this. The magical energy required from this technique flows from Kasumi's Spirit Sword into her and she cannot access it without her Spirit Sword in hand. Kasumi has managed to focus the energies in her Spirit Sword to perform a cutting technique, although it is tiring for her to perform. The cutting power of this attack is extremely high. It releases on contact with her blade and has a weakness in the short effective range limited by the length of her weapon. Kasumi is able to use this attack very few times before she is exhausted. It is theorized that Kasumi's Spirit Sword manipulates the convergence and concentration of power and energy. By concentrating healing power in the dead, she can restore them, while she probably stores up her magical energy in her blade when she does not require it, so she may release it when it is most needed. Kasumi is skilled in the use of various Akaviri Movement Techniques, allowing her to move quickly around any form of environment. She has demonstrated the ability to easily leap off all sorts of surfaces and can move fast enough so non Spirit Pressure users cannot perceive her with their eyes. Kasumi has unprecedented mastery of this as she cannot rely on Spirit Pressure for ranged attacks against other Spirit Pressure users and has to always close the gap. Kasumi is also able to stick to walls and defy gravity using Spirit Pressure. Kasumi has combined her energy focusing ability and her movement technique to perform extremely powerful slashes able to easily cleave their way through even magically reinforced weapons. By combining high speed movement and the release of a cutting edge from her sword over a short range, Kasumi increases the cutting power of her attack for less magicka usage, making her more efficient than if she just released the cutting edge from a standing position. Kasumi has some knowledge of elemental abilities and is able to generate ice from atmospheric water. She is not very skilled in this area and can only create ice cubes at best, used generally to cool herself off or for drinks. Kasumi can also use basic flames and coat her sword with fire. As she is of the Itsuka clan, Kasumi is able to generate electricity and use it for various purposes as well. She has shown that she can use the Thunder Arrow ability, although her use is weak and she can only generate one orb per shot when most Itsukas can make at least five. After learning the Mikogami and Hoshimiya self refinement techniques from Ren, Kasumi is able to coat her entire spirit sword with elemental power and the power of her ranged magic has increased per cast as her use of magical energy is more optimised. However, Kasumi is still considerably weaker at using magic than her allies Ren and Shiori where output is concerned. Kasumi is extremely skilled in swordsmanship, having relied on it and her great speed to defend herself and attack enemies because of her meagre powers. Kasumi is able to redirect projectiles with her sword back at their origin. She is also able to contend against the dual wielding Ryu Min Yeon with a single sword, fighting the latter to a draw until Min Yeon used her Spirit Weapon. Equipment As a Tsaesci Royal, Kasumi carries the straight sword that symbolizes her status instead of a katana that the non Guardian Clan Tsaesci use. This sword is an ornate weapon made with a golden hilt and shiny silvery blade. It is known for its sharpness and does not blunt or break. Used in conjunction with the great strength of a Spirit Pressure user, the sword is ideal for puncturing and cutting through armor, flesh and bone alike. Kasumi originally wears traditional Akaviri Tsaesci garments of a princess. As she lost most of her clothing when the ship that was to take her to Tamriel sunk, she wears only a pink silk kimono that has flowery patterns, which serves as a casual wear and her hair ornaments. She does not have any other Tsaesci clothing with her. Kasumi's sword hangs from her belt, attached using a cord that comes from its sheath. She wears her sword on the left. Kasumi changed her clothing for that of Tamriel's locals on advice from Ren, deciding not to wear her Akaviri attire as it would draw unnecessary attention to her. Other than her hairpin to prevent her very long hair from moving all over the place when she fights, Kasumi has also kept away most of her hair ornaments. Kasumi has a magic mirror handed to her by her brother Tetsuya, which allows her to speak to whoever is holding another magic mirror linked to said mirror. The other mirror of the pair is currently in Tetsuya's hands, so she can contact him if necessary. Trivia *Kasumi was originally unable to write Tamrielic properly and has trouble understanding written Tamrielic word. She is able to speak three languages, though, including the standardised Ka Po Tun language and Kamal language. *Kasumi picked up Tamrielic in Tamriel and practices by reading books written in Tamrielic. *Kasumi does not really like the food of Tamriel. *Kasumi does not like damaging property and she sometimes holds back in fights because of this, unless it is too late to matter. *Kasumi is a rather picky eater. *Kasumi has a beautiful singing voice. Category:Echoes of the Orient Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Royalty Category:Tsaesci Category:Spirit Pressure User Category:Prince